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Friday, October 21, 2011

Amatriciana Sauce - Italian Sauce with Pancetta

Since I started blogging here at UMI over 3 years ago, I've noticed that readers really love the sauce recipes. Whether its my family recipe for Sunday Gravy, Vodka Sauce or Arrabiatta Sauce - these sauces are classics that can usually be made with minimal effort and a big wow factor.

Here is another classic Italian sauce recipe that boasts the amazing flavor of Pancetta! It gets its name from the town of its origin, Amatrice (a super small town in Northern Lazio. We're talking central Italy, here - the countryside that literally divides the North from the South.) It is a very rustic style sauce.

Pancetta is Italian bacon that is cured with all kinds of salt and yummy spices. It is most often used in recipes for the flavor you get from the fat (who doesn't love cooking in a good fat!?) on the meat. Some "Med-E-Gones" substitute regular bacon in recipes such as these. I guess you could do the same, but then you run the risk of breaking my heart (and the hearts of Italians everywhere).

AMATRICIANA SAUCE

3 TB e.v.o.o.

2 oz. pancetta, finely cubed

1 med onion, minced

1 TB minced garlic

pinch of dried oregano

1 can whole peeled tomatoes, chopped or hand crushed

1/2 tsp (to start) curshed red pepper flakes (adjust to your liking)

1 TB julienned fresh basil leaves

salt & pepper to taste

Start with only 2 TB of the olive oil. Use it to brown the pancetta. Once browned, add the onions and garlic, saute over medium heat until soft. Stir in the oregano, hot pepper flakes, and the tomatoes. Bring it to a boil. SImmer until sauce has thickened a bit (around 30 minutes)

At the end, stir in the basil leaves and add more hot pepper/salt/pepper as needed. Stir in the remaining TB of olive oil until emulsified.